For the first time in forever, Hillary Clinton has taken the lead in a key early state

For the first time in nearly three months, former Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton has taken the lead in the
first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire.

A new Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll of the state found
Clinton with a narrow, two-point lead over insurgent Sen. Bernie
Sanders (I-Vermont) in the state. Clinton grabbed the support of
about 37% of likely Democratic primary voters in the state,
compared to about 35% who chose Sanders.

The results are within the poll's 4.4% margin of error.

Sanders had surged in the state throughout the
summer, and he has led every public poll in the state since
one that was conducted from July 22 to July
30. Sanders had broken away to double-digit leads in the Granite
State in two polls conducted late last month.

All of the 500 likely Democratic voters included in the poll were
surveyed after the debate. And, according to the poll, 54% of the
survey's respondents thought Clinton "won" the debate. Sanders
lagged behind, as about 24% chose him as the winner.

The poll also suggested that a key moment in the debate played to
Clinton's favor in the Granite State. Clinton challenged Sanders on the topic of gun
control, arguing that he has not gone far enough to promote
gun-safety measures. The resulting back and forth also
highlighted his support of a controversial measure that bars
victims of gun violence or their family members from filing
lawsuits against gun-shop owners.

"Clinton’s willingness to engage Sanders on gun control
established her progressive credentials," said David Paleologos,
director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in
Boston. "And her debate performance solidified her standing with
New Hampshire Democratic voters, who have her leading her closest
rival for the first time since July."

According to the poll, 41% of New Hampshire Democrats said
Clinton's position on gun control "most closely reflects" their
own position on the topic. Just 24% chose Sanders.

The poll provided an indication, however, of the extent to which
Clinton's standing has fallen in the state over the past few
months. The last time Suffolk surveyed the Democratic field there
in June, Clinton was up by 10 points.

Granite State Democrats said in Friday's poll, however, that they
believe Clinton has the best chance of winning a general-election
matchup against the Republican nominee next year. A majority
(52%) chose her as the Democratic candidate with the "best
chance" of defeating a Republican challenger, while 16% picked
Sanders and 14% favored Vice President Joe Biden.

Biden, who is still mulling whether to mount a late challenge to
Clinton, was the pick of about 11% of New Hampshire
Democratic voters overall. But 49% of New Hampshire Democrats
said they do not believe he should run for president, compared
with 36% who said he should.